Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Hurricane Nicole's path as it makes landfall near Florida's Vero Beach

According to Actionnewsjax, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Nicole's epicenter was only about 15 miles east-southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida, early on Thursday, November 10. With maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and a west-northwest motion of 14 mph, it was classified as a Category 1 hurricane. The minimum sustained wind speed for a storm to be classified as a hurricane is 74 mph. With maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, the wide-ranging storm made landfall on Great Abaco island barely hours before slamming into Grand Bahama as a hurricane.

Since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane that destroyed the island in 2019, Nicole is the first storm to make landfall in the Bahamas. After making landfall in the northwest of the island, extensive flooding, downed trees, and power and water disruptions were reported. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis stated at a news conference in Tallahassee that winds were the largest worry and that there might be substantial power outages, but that 16,000 linemen, 600 guardsmen, and seven search and rescue teams were ready to restore power. DeSantis said of the storm's expected landfall, "It will affect huge parts of the state of Florida all day.”

According to the governor, 15 shelters were open throughout Florida's east coast and almost two dozen school districts were closing their doors due to the hurricane. Earlier, the resorts at Disney World and Universal Orlando announced their closures. On Wednesday morning, November 9, Palm Beach International Airport closed, and Daytona Beach International Airport announced it will also stop operating. The seventh busiest airport in the country, Orlando International Airport, was also closed. A state of emergency had been declared in 45 of Florida's 67 counties, according to DeSantis. "Pay attention to local officials & @FLSERT for updates as the storm approaches," he remarked.